<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
	<META HTTP-EQUIV="CONTENT-TYPE" CONTENT="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
	<TITLE></TITLE>
	<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="OpenOffice.org 3.0  (Win32)">
	<META NAME="AUTHOR" CONTENT="Richard Bell">
	<META NAME="tag" CONTENT="">
	<META NAME="featuretag" CONTENT="route">
	<META NAME="locked" CONTENT="False">
</HEAD>
<BODY LANG="en-US" DIR="LTR">
<img border="0" src="../static/img/gl_route.png" width="334" height="380" align="right">
<H1>Great Loop Introduction</H1>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">For a quick overview of the North
American Great Loop see the <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_loop">Wikipedia
entry</A> or simply Google for <A HREF="http://www.google.com/search?q=great+loop&amp;sourceid=navclient-ff&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS289US289">Great
Loop</A>.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Broadly the Great Loop is a trip by boat
around the Eastern US and Southern Canada. The loop is normally traveled counter clockwise to take advantage of river 
flows.&nbsp; Loopers (people cruising the Great Loop) generally spend the winter months in southern waters and the 
summer in northern waters.</P>
<h2 STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">The Route</h2>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">The Loop is not a single
route but a set of choices. Generally it goes: 
</P>
<UL>
	<LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">North from Florida up the east
	coast via the intracoastal waterway 
	</P>
	<LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Up the Hudson to Canada either by
	way of the Erie Canal or the Champlain Canal 
	</P>
	<LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Through Canada via the Ottawa
	River and Rideau Canal, the Trent Severn Waterway, and Georgian Bay
		</P>
	<LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">South through Lake Michigan to
	Chicago 
	</P>
	<LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">South via the Illinois,
	Mississippi, and Tombigbee to the Gull of Mexico 
	</P>
	<LI><P>Then east to Florida, the keys, and Bahamas 
	</P>
</UL>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">There is a more detailed description of the Great Loop route [[GL.Route|here]] with links 
to more detailed information on individual segments.</P>
<h2>Route Options</h2>
<P>There are many options and alternatives to this route including:</P>
<UL>
	<LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">The New England Loop - following the
	Atlantic Coast to the St Lawrence and then Montreal. 
	</P>
	<LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Touring the inland
	rivers 
	</P>
	<LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Exploring the Florida Keys 
	</P>
	<LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Wintering in the Bahamas 
	</P>
	<LI><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Exploring the Chesapeake Bay 
	</P>
	<LI><P>Exploring the Delaware Bay 
	</P>
</UL>
<h2>Distance and Time</h2>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">While distances vary considerably the
loop is roughly 6,000 to 7,000 miles long.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">While the Loop can be done in a few months, most Loopers take approximately a year to 
complete the Loop.&nbsp; Many Loopers take breaks during the voyage so that it takes several years to complete the 
entire trip.</P>
<h2 STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Boats</h2>
<p STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">While all sorts of boats are used most Loopers, people cruising the Great Loop, travel on 
boats of about 40'.&nbsp; Trawlers are particularly popular.&nbsp; You can get more information about boats [[GL.Boats_todo|here]].</p>
<h2 STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Other Information Resources</h2>
<p STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">There are many sources of Great Loop information.&nbsp; One worth particular note is the
<a href="http://www.greatloop.com/topic.asp?pid=1">America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association</a>.&nbsp; Many Loopers 
join this excellent organization.&nbsp; You can find a list of other useful resources [[GL.Links_todo|here]].</p>
</BODY>
</HTML>